Gargantua and Pantagruel eBook

Placut, who being brisk and hale, fell dead as he
was paying an old debt; which causes, perhaps, many
not to pay theirs, for fear of the like accident.
Nor of the painter Zeuxis, who killed himself with
laughing at the sight of the antique jobbernowl of
an old hag drawn by him. Nor, in short, of a
thousand more of which authors write, as Varrius,
Pliny, Valerius, J. Baptista Fulgosus, and Bacabery
the elder. In short, Gaffer Wide-nostrils choked
himself with eating a huge lump of fresh butter at
the mouth of a hot oven by the advice of physicians.

They likewise told us there that the King of Cullan
in Bohu had routed the grandees of King Mecloth, and
made sad work with the fortresses of Belima.

After this, we sailed by the islands of Nargues and
Zargues; also by the islands of Teleniabin and Geleniabin,
very fine and fruitful in ingredients for clysters;
and then by the islands of Enig and Evig, on whose
account formerly the Landgrave of Hesse was swinged
off with a vengeance.

Chapter 4.XVIII.

How Pantagruel met with a great storm at sea.

The next day we espied nine sail that came spooning
before the wind; they were full of Dominicans, Jesuits,
Capuchins, Hermits, Austins, Bernardins, Egnatins,
Celestins, Theatins, Amadeans, Cordeliers, Carmelites,
Minims, and the devil and all of other holy monks
and friars, who were going to the Council of Chesil,
to sift and garble some new articles of faith against
the new heretics. Panurge was overjoyed to see
them, being most certain of good luck for that day
and a long train of others. So having courteously
saluted the blessed fathers, and recommended the salvation
of his precious soul to their devout prayers and private
ejaculations, he caused seventy-eight dozen of Westphalia
hams, units of pots of caviare, tens of Bolonia sausages,
hundreds of botargoes, and thousands of fine angels,
for the souls of the dead, to be thrown on board their
ships. Pantagruel seemed metagrabolized, dozing,
out of sorts, and as melancholic as a cat. Friar
John, who soon perceived it, was inquiring of him whence
should come this unusual sadness; when the master,
whose watch it was, observing the fluttering of the
ancient above the poop, and seeing that it began to
overcast, judged that we should have wind; therefore
he bid the boatswain call all hands upon deck, officers,
sailors, foremast-men, swabbers, and cabin-boys, and
even the passengers; made them first settle their topsails,
take in their spritsail; then he cried, In with your
topsails, lower the foresail, tallow under parrels,
braid up close all them sails, strike your topmasts
to the cap, make all sure with your sheeps-feet, lash
your guns fast. All this was nimbly done.
Immediately it blowed a storm; the sea began to roar
and swell mountain-high; the rut of the sea was great,
the waves breaking upon our ship’s quarter;
the north-west wind blustered and overblowed; boisterous